Boostcraver's resto-modification build

[boostcraver]

I've been on here for a while so I thought it was time to start a build thread. First a little history on the car: I am the third owner and purchased the car from another member on here in March of this year. When I got the car, it had been sitting in a field behind the guy's house for the better part of five years and really was looking the worse for the wear. The paint was badly oxidized, the brakes were locked up, and it didn't run. It did have a freshly rebuilt 7mgte motor that hadn't yet been cranked and an automatic trans. I found the car on Craigslist and after a few phone calls, I was on my way to Michigan to pick it up. I brought it back to Kentucky and got it re assembled and running over the course of the next few months. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be a running vehicle for long as the 60-1 modded ct had bad oil seals and the engine was consuming MASSIVE quantities of oil, so I parked the car and began assembling a few things. Currently, the engine is out and being prepped for a full refresher to recheck that everything is all good then the fun begins! On to the pics, sorry for the poor quality of the pics. Phone cam is all I have for the moment but will be getting a new digi-cam soon, so stay tuned!

Cooleze accordian pipe installed. I had to trim about an inch off both ends to get it to fit behind the PS reservoir.

Here's what she looked like after a good buff and wax.

The wheels all looked like this. refinishing is in the future for this set of rims that has escaped any curb rash during previous ownership.

The blown 60-1 ct after a few thousand miles. UGH!

There were a few rusty spots that will need to be addressed. Good thing I have an '87 turbo shell to pull the needed parts from.

The shell car. Not pretty, but it dosen't have to be. I'm using the windshield frame, pass. side door, and rear quarters as of right now. Let me know if you need anything before I take it off to the scrapyard.

 

[boostcraver]

The engine as of today

A few hours later...

Almost ready for the machine shop...

 

[Chambers]

Nice! Looks like a good project!

 

[boostcraver]

A few of the mods I have purchased but not installed yet. T70 turbo and tubular exhaust mani...

XS Power 46mm wg...

3in. v-band Dp. Will need a little work before install...

Tockiko Blues with Race Dynamics lowered springs. This combo is supposed to be good for a 35mm drop...

The stock turbo next to the t70...

Stay tuned.. updates in the next few weeks.

---------- Post added at 11:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:10 PM ----------

Nice! Looks like a good project!

Thanks Chambers!

---------- Post added at 11:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 PM ----------

Will be posting some pics soon of the 5sp. swap that I got a few weeks back. It's an r154 with a 6 puck clutch and sogi modded shifter. Will be rebuilding it with all the Marlin Crawler goodies before installing it with a light weight flywheel and new, one-piece driveshaft. Also, in the near future I'm getting some Titan cam gears and 19" staggered rims with tires from the same guy I got my turbo setup from. Check back soon... also, check out my FS thread for any parts you might need : http://www.supramania.com/forums/sho...76#post1651776

Edit: new parts to be added soon at the FS thread above. Anyone need body panels check me out!

 

[boostcraver]

Update: I finished opening up the top half of the motor tonight and it appears I have bad rings Hopefully the pistons themselves are ok and I can get away with re-honing the bores (the right way this time) and reinstalling the current .020 over Ross pistons with new rings without re-boring the cyls. Haven't looked at the bottom side yet. Only time and the machine shop will tell. Is there anyone in the Louisville Ky area that can recommend a trustworthy and knowledgeable (with our engines) machine shop? Pics to come as soon as I get a good camera.

 

[TweeT91109]

Dam this looks like a good build. Good luck any plans to upgrade the tyranny to hold the extra power. Case that t70 is a big bitch. I don't know if the r154 can hold that.

 

[boostcraver]

Dam this looks like a good build. Good luck any plans to upgrade the tyranny to hold the extra power. Case that t70 is a big bitch. I don't know if the r154 can hold that.

Looking for the most comprehensive MC rebuild kit I can find and then when I have that I will be building the trans. Bad news is that the turbo also seems to need a re-build due to excessive shaft play, but wont know til i can get it to Aaron @ Driftmotion. Keep watching for updates on the engine in the next few weeks! Gonna try to focus on one specific area of the car at a time, and make as much progress as I can in the next few months.

 

[TweeT91109]

Looking for the most comprehensive MC rebuild kit I can find and then when I have that I will be building the trans. Bad news is that the turbo also seems to need a re-build due to excessive shaft play, but wont know til i can get it to Aaron @ Driftmotion. Keep watching for updates on the engine in the next few weeks! Gonna try to focus on one specific area of the car at a time, and make as much progress as I can in the next few months.

Good Idea, maybe you should make a check list also. And get one thing done at a time.

 

[boostcraver]

Good Idea, maybe you should make a check list also. And get one thing done at a time.

Check on the checklist Getting one thing done at a time may be the hard part! I need to get the engine gone through and freshened up in prep for the high psi it will be seeing, trying to get the body done while the engine is out, trying to get the interior done while it's out for the bodywork/paint, but have so much I need to get before the car can even be started again. Too many things and too few dollars to go around! Good thing I am capable of doing most of the work I have planned for this build

 

[boostcraver]

Update time! So yesterday I got another shell, an 89 turbo auto targa. It is super clean and rust free, unlike my '91 shell. I will be swapping everything usable from the '91 to the '89 and proceeding with the build from there. The block is going to the machine shop tomorrow, finally. I also rented an 1,100 sq. ft. space to work in and will be starting the tear down in the next few days. Stay tuned for more to come!

 

[boostcraver]

Update! Made some progress today with the car(s). Got 'em flipped around in the bay and started pulling the interior out of the '91 so I can clean it up and re-dye it all. I am getting some black leather seats from another member on here in the next week or so along with matching front and rear carpet. The interior will be something similar to a shadow gray for the plastics with black leather seats and accents, and carpet. Can't wait to see how it all turns out!

The twins (sort of):

I promise I will be getting a quality camera soon so the pics will improve soon. Also, on a positive note, I had my t70 checked by a local Garrett retailer and they say it is fit for duty as-is. WOOT!! Finally, something about this car that doesn't need to be rebuilt! Apparently, I was checking the shaft play the wrong way and it was giving me an incorrect result. When checking shaft play, wiggle both ends of the shaft in the same direction simultaneously. Keep that in mind all of you in reader-land

 

[boostcraver]

Update time. Not much new since the last update, but I did manage to pick up a Megan racing 3" catback, and a Prosport green/white boost gauge from Supraman502, and the Black leather seats from Too_stand. I have a '91 5 speed ECU on the way from Moy (Thanks to all three), and the machinist finally got around to doing some actual work on my block. It is being punched to a TRUE .20 over (it was only taken.18 over before) and re-honed. I need to order new rings and bearings and I will be picking up a re-assembled engine soon afterward. Found out by doing a Vin. search @ work that my '91 has factory shadow grey interior, so that was very cool to learn, since my plan was a shadow interior in the first place. I just hadn't ever seen it in person and been told that was what I was looking at, so I didn't know I had it Here's a few pics of the boost gauge lit up at the shop, and taken with my new 12.1 mpxl camera! Woot for good, or @ least better, qual. jpeg's!

Currently, I am parting the red '91, and have sold a few things off the white '89 as well. The white car will be the car I will be driving eventually, once the drivetrain/powertrain, EMS/fuel system, and suspension/brake systems are thoroughly sorted. While all things mechanical are being done, I will be meanwhile prepping the body for a complete color change. I have only ever seen one Teal MK3 in person, but that was all I needed to convince me that's the color mk3 for me. I know it won't be a "real" teal car, and I wouldn't try to pass it off as one. I will be honest if some one asks me if it's genuine, so please, don't hate because that's what color I'm going with. I promise, it will be done well and look as if it was born that way.

I plan to put in the work as much as I'm able and defer to the pro's when needed to eventually achieve 600 whp. Any one who is approaching the 600 whp mark and running on E-85, please give me a shout and let me know who you are. I have a few questions if there is one among you that would mind to let me pick your brain for a bit. Thanks in advance.

 

[boostcraver]

Update. I made some progress with the white car today, and snapped a few pics before the "DEMO" began. Not a whole lot but I started tearing out the Blue dash and some other parts that I'm not planning on reusing. Also snapped a pic of the Alpine radio/ cd/ mp3 player that I will be installing in the car when it goes back together. It was stil installed in the red one so I powered it on and shot it. Looks like it will match the prosports and LED dash cluster quite well!

Heres a few shots of the car from the outside. VERY DIRTY!

Under the hood. Not looking the best but that will soon change!

The Po of this car was planning to drop a V-8 in this car, so He cut the motor mounts from the subframe. NP, as I am going to swap the subframe from the red '91.

The rear bumper has a good sized dent in it, but I have a better one from the '91 to replace it with.

More to come soon! I should be getting the block back from the machine shop in the near future. Will post pics of it when I do. Til next time...

 

[supera51]

you said you have a parts car it looks burgundy, if it is would you be willing to ship out the targa? mine has horrible oxidization, that and the hood are really the only things keeping my car from hitting the "acceptable" level haha

EDIT: I'm colorblind apparently. Anyways looking good let me know how that t70 is I like my t61 but I think that would be more fun!

 

[boostcraver]

you said you have a parts car it looks burgundy, if it is would you be willing to ship out the targa? mine has horrible oxidization, that and the hood are really the only things keeping my car from hitting the "acceptable" level haha

EDIT: I'm colorblind apparently. Anyways looking good let me know how that t70 is I like my t61 but I think that would be more fun!

Parts car is red, not burgundy, but I'm using the targa from the red car as it sits better on the white car. Kinda hard to explain... have you ever stepped back from a targa car with the roof in and noticed the little dip at the back of the roof where the rear of the targa meets the roof above the rear seat? Kinda like the targa part of the roof is bubbled up a tiny little bit so the roofline doesn't look flat all the way across the top...if you know what I'm talking about, 'nuff said. If not, go looking for it the next time your around a couple of them and you're bound to see what I'm talking about. I said all that to say, I'm keeping the red roof on the white car because the roof looks absolutely straight across the top when snugged down in the fasteners. I would be willing to part with the white top, but you would have to take it as an assembled unit and pay for the shipping. Let me know if you still want it. If you want, I could take your factory paint code and paint match it for you before shipping, but you would have to buy the materials as well. Just PM me if you're interested and we can work it out.

Will get back to you on the turbo, but it will likely be a while. I'm in a bit of a pinch for the money to pay off my machinist and get my motor back before he retires in a few weeks, but he won't be done with it even when I pay him off and pick it up. He's just tired of messing with it, so in short, he stopped working on it entirely. I will likely have to pay another shop to re-check everything and finish the job the way I want it done. Soooo...will keep you posted

Now for the good stuff, update time. Due to the fact that I will be moving by the first week of June, I have been trying to get as many parts installed/swapped from the red '91 to the white '89 shell as possible so I can A.) keep better track of what I plan to keep/use for the final build up of the car and B.) actually accomplish the move with more ease. It's alot easier to move a car as a whole than in a thousand pieces! Once I get everything together that I am keeping, I will be loading up the rejected/no good parts in the red shell and sending it to it's final garaging address A.K.A the crusher. Got the Blue interior 100% out of the white car and temporarily installed the shadow interior out of the red one for transport and to keep the panels from getting pressure marks in 'em from sitting on top of one another in storage. I had picked up a new-ish set of black leather, re-covered seats from too_stand on here a few months back and decided to see how they would look against the shadow gray panels, so in they went. Even though it's not complete ATM, I think the pics speak for themselves.

From the back, through the hatch.

Passenger side looking in

Driver's side looking in

Hatch. Notice the Blue parts in the pics? The shadow equivalents were damaged, so I kept these as replacements and will have the ENTIRE interior re-dyed at the same time so everything looks brand new and matches perfectly. If any of you out there looking at this have a good shadow hatch cover with a strong return spring and even coloration, holler at me and let me know what it's worth to ya. The one in the pic is merely there to make the hatch look complete for the pic more or less. It's well beyond shot and useless.

Got my good set of 89+ tails temp installed for the move as well as the driver's mirror. Need to get new taillight seals and, of course, paint behind them before final install and the mirror housing needs some TLC before it breaks off completely, but I think it's salvageable. @ least it's better thatn the one that it replaced.

I still need to remove from the red car: the air bag wheel and all related wiring, all glass, dash, console and carpet as well as swapping the subframes so I can remount my later model block in the 89 shell whenever I do finally get it back from the machinist(s). The white shell had the motor mount risers cut off by the PO with the intent of dropping a 350 crate motor in it (ugh!) After all that is pulled and finds it's way into the interior of the 89, I will be moving out side and swapping the rear bumper and re-mounting the front bumper and hood before finally moving into my new garage in a few weeks. So much to do, so little time...stay tuned for the updates as they will be coming more frequently from here on out. I'm determined to drive a Supra titled in my name before the weather gets too cold for top out cruising, so I need to get a move on and get some funding in order. More soon...

 

[boostcraver]

Update: got some work done on the car today. Have pretty much all body panel selection between the two cars narrowed down and parts mounted to the white shell. Pics later tonight. Everything is temporarily mounted but good enough to move the car without losing anything important. Also threw a bunch of smaller loose parts that I'm keeping for the build in the hatch. Pics soon...

 

[dbsupra90]

hey another louisville guy!

looks like you have a ton of space to work in. i feel like im in a shoebox.

good luck on the build!

 

[boostcraver]

hey another louisville guy!

looks like you have a ton of space to work in. i feel like im in a shoebox.

good luck on the build!

Hey, is this Dave, with the white '90? I met you at the Thornton's on Cane Run back in September. Do you remember the red targa '91 I was driving at the time? As stated above, that is now my parts car and I have aquired an '89 Targa shell and am in the process of converting to full '91-'92 spec. using quite a few parts off the '91 and getting the body as nice as it can be made to look then going Teal for the paint job. i know as rare as Mk3 are to see on the street, NO ONE in town or in the area has one that color. You should come by sometime after I get moved and check out the car/hang out, shoot the breeze.

 

[boostcraver]

So, as promised, Pics of the (relatively minor) progress. At least it looks like a whole car from the outside again. It will all be looking pretty again in it's new color before too long.

Didn't mount the red bumper yet since the other one is already there keeping all the hardware contained That's gonna be where I will start with the paint prep...let the sanding begin!

All the parts I deemed important enough to pack in the car for moving day. This after several hours of rummaging through boxes and shelves looking for the parts I've been collecting and/or keeping for the next time the car breathes...

Also, here's the R154 I picked up a few months ago, along with the requisite pedals. These are going in as soon as I finish refurbishing them and get the new clutch master cyl.

Anyone have any suggestions, questions or comments, hit me up.

 

[lithium14]

I envy ur leather seats are you going to dye the inserts to match? if so, how? I would love to do a full black interior conversion in the long run